Nice topic.. Just had a conversation with a couple of friends about this very issue..

Personally i'm for Performance.. But being able to drill up a new ball at a low cost, definetely is a factor for me now.. But i used to consider Lifespan before that.. Now i can afford to drill up multiples, but i rarely do..

I used to practice a couple of hours everyday, and bowl leagues or tournaments 3 weekends out of a month.. So my new equipment would quickly get a lot of games..
Now i practice 1-2 times a week, bowl leagues, and at most 10 tournaments for the whole year, this includes nationals and regionals..

When i was competing a lot, Lifespan was definetely important for me, because i'd spend a lot of my money on travelling to other countries and Tournament-fees, i wouldn't make a lot of replacements in my arsenal.. I did a lot of surface changes instead..

I can see why some bowlers, who maybe buys that one ball every 2 years, but bowls 2-3 times every week, can be bummed out if there ball dies out after 50-100 games.. Especially if they're kids..
I once waited a long time for a ball that was on backorder, was supposed to be the biggest thing since pizza, threw it for 40-50 GOOD games, of which 1/3 might have been practice, to after those games end up with a ball that performed no better than a spareball.. I never drilled up a new one..
A friend of mine, who can afford it, drilled up a 2nd of a ball within 5 weeks because the first one died out after 50 games.. And he has actually already ordered a 3rd for stock.. Not everyone can do this..

I've been lucky/unlucky to have a couple of balls perform well over a number of years.. Lucky because i have found nothing like them, Unlucky because i've been so pleased with them that they've been discontinued, before i remembered to stock some..


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Tough times don't last, tough people do...

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